{"currencyCode":"USD","itemData":[{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":5,"ASIN":"B001GCUO02","isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":4.99,"ASIN":"B00AEFYPQ6","isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":4.99,"ASIN":"B004EPYZOO","isPreorder":0}],"shippingId":"B001GCUO02::mHxl9tTYrpjeLOXx3oa8X7NwbdImORJw65BkyA%2FtDjMqg%2FaWnhEFOJXMwBoawqOB6MsJ4WLF7otCz331%2B0VrTzOtfDxsko0Qu8fwjyoRQFU%3D,B00AEFYPQ6::kxooYhWctm8%2BGKCycSygPnsKoRX%2B96%2FX8ydG17gii3i3DnCMHi7mu94OnAptBB3B6xkzD6ffyXUv8nJkb9aUuw3%2FteegewmcHkGQAyENRN3DKwIYtFCGJg%3D%3D,B004EPYZOO::lCOdZk0Bvwy9EvI%2F209lxDUUmhvC9ixlrJ54FM9XxqxvSn7OWGo2iMYKvT0pOYYwn2Xb1lXXejW9k7LQdACx%2FCGp69HtcnB6kXvIzsmMjf82Pc%2BK%2FiEsgA%3D%3D","sprites":{"addToWishlist":["wl_one","wl_two","wl_three"],"addToCart":["s_addToCart","s_addBothToCart","s_add3ToCart"],"preorder":["s_preorderThis","s_preorderBoth","s_preorderAll3"]},"shippingDetails":{"xz":"same","xy":"same","yz":"same","xyz":"same"},"tags":["x","y","z","w"],"strings":{"addToWishlist":["Add to Wish List","Add both to Wish List","Add all three to Wish List","Add all four to Wish List"],"addToCart":["Add to Cart","Add both to Cart","Add all three to Cart","Add all four to Cart"],"showDetailsDefault":"Show availability and shipping details","shippingError":"An error occurred, please try again","hideDetailsDefault":"Hide availability and shipping details","priceLabel":["Price:","Price for both:","Price for all three:","Price For All Four:"],"preorder":["Pre-order this item","Pre-order both items","Pre-order all three items","Pre-order all four items"]}}

Editorial Reviews

A college professor (Nicolas Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son s elementary school. In it are some chilling accurate predictions of disasters... when, where, and how many will die. Most of these events must uncover the details of the next disasters in hopes of preventing them. If he fails, who knows how many will die?

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Why read this first? Because hopefully there are no spoilers here. In so many of the reviews for this movie, as well as others on Amazon, people seemed compelled to give a total synopsis of the movie all the way up to the end -- especially if they didn't like the movie. It's like if they didn't care for it, then nobody else needs to see it. Well, I'm glad that I didn't read any of the reviews here before watching KNOWING because I enjoyed not knowing and being able to decide for myself. And my opinion is that KNOWING is a very fine movie.

The previews tell you what you need to know: A time capsule which contains school children's drawings about what they think things will be like in 50 years is opened in the present day. An astrophysicist (Nicholas Cage)gets hold of one submission which is a lengthy series of numbers. He discovers that the numbers predict future disasters, most which have happened, but a few that are still to come. His mission becomes to avert the disasters. There-- that's all you need to know about the story, now sit back and enjoy the movie.

Here's what I am knowing:1) If you hate Nicholas Cage you will hate the movie.2) If you are a total science fiction geek you may not like this film as for me it was more spiritual than scifi.3) If you don't like spiritual things, don't like God or the Bible, or don't want to be thinking about anything like this then you should stay away from the movie.4) If major disasters are something you don't want to watch a movie about then this one is not for you.5) If you prefer mindless comedy or romance, Knowing probably won't be at the top of your list.6) This was my kind of movie-- I was thrilled, entertained, and uplifted in the end. I rented it, but I will probably want to add this to my collection.

I noticed early on that "Knowing" had been receiving scathing reviews from cinephiles who called the movie "cliche," "trite," and "derivative." Most of these criticisms were impassioned and seemed to compare the movie to false estimations of what the film should have been. There is nothing wrong with wanting a movie to subvert or defy your expectations; but there is something unfair about not recognizing a film for what it is, especially when the movie succeeds so brilliantly in achieving its end result. "Knowing" starts off like a typical apocalyptic thriller rooted in numerology. But slowly the momentum of the film builds with each carefully crafted scene, so its suspense dissolves into a profound study on loss and letting go. "Knowing" is about knowing your place and role in the universe, and accepting it; and as hard as it may seem, letting go of your loved ones for their betterment -- even if its at odds with your own private longings. The ending could have played out many different ways -- with us not seeing where the children ultimately arrive so that Cage's character is left only "knowing" in his heart -- or having faith. Proyas is a benevolent director, so he allows us to see that the children indeed go on to a better place (whether this scene is the last thought in Cage's head or a scene that takes place outside of Cage's existence could be a subject of debate) because the story is trying to help us understand when it is necessary for our own peace to let go of our philosophical Materialism. I think it's unfair to label this movie as "cliche" -- Proyas and writers simply used the generic conventions of your standard "end of the world" movie to turn the genre on its head and give you something more lasting than special effects. For those of you who loved this movie -- read Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End," a novel which Proyas alludes to in "The Knowing."

This is an excellent movie but it will not be for everyone. The people who wrote the screenplay seem to have made the mistaken assumption that the average moviegoer is also well-read and educated. This, sadly, is not the case. The plot line of Knowing is rooted in some rather obscure and/or less-than-mainstream ideas. These include Chaos theory, the ideas of Von Daniken, ancient astronaut theory, astrophysics, and certain alternative facets of spirtuality.

If you are the type who likes a movie that makes you think and question then this will be perfect for you. And if you like it then spread the word to your more intelligent friends!

Knowing is perfect for those who appreciate some thought being put into movies. For those who prefer mindless and simple entertainment, then you have your choice of many other movies.

"Knowing" achieves a level of greatness so few science fiction films ever achieve. It's not merely an engaging mystery--it's a deeply thought-provoking fable that's just as frightening as it is intelligent, and it ultimately makes a statement so profound that I was left completely awestruck. I don't often have an experience like that at the movies, and for that, I'm indebted to director Alex Proyas and writers Ryne Douglas Pearson, Juliet Snowden, Stiles White, and Stewart Hazeldine. They've successfully crafted one of the year's most stimulating films, taking the audience on a suspenseful, emotional, and ultimately (albeit unconventionally) redemptive journey that poses interesting questions on the nature of things. A movie like this could have easily placed technical achievement over character development, and thankfully, that didn't happen; we care just as much about the people as we do about the spectacular special effects.

The story begins in 1959, when an elementary school class is asked to draw pictures of what the world will look like fifty years later. What they draw will be put into a time capsule, which will be reopened in the year 2009. Rather than draw a picture, the quiet, disturbed Lucinda Embry (Lara Robinson) writes out a series of numbers on both the front and the back of a piece of paper.

Flash forward to the present day. We meet an MIT astrophysics professor named John Koestler (Nicholas Cage), who teaches his students that two theories on the nature of the universe have been proposed. On the one side, we have the determinist view, which states that everything happens as the result of a predetermined--and more importantly, a predictable--sequence of events.Read more ›

Not end of the world, but movies that are somewhat similarly spiritually themed with a sci-fi type premise that I liked a great deal are THE CELESTINE PROPHECY and SIGNS. Also there is the 1962 film THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE which is pretty good though lacking in the modern day special... Read More